Developing Questions
by darkblack03
Summary: When Prince Gumball gets sick, questions develop. Why is he suddenly so sick? How can it be cured? It's up to Fionna and Marshall to save the day. Will they grow closer in the process? Fiolee!
1. A Completely Average Morning

**Okay! Hello I've decided to start a new FF! Adventure time-ness! This takes place at a boarding school, so… yeah. It might start off a little slow at the beginning because of the intros of my OC's (I can't have a story without OC's IDK why…) but the plot shall pick up soon I promise!**

Marshall Lee's eyes snapped open immediately as his alarm clock began to blare. He groaned and flipped himself off of the top bunk, floating safely down to the ground. He resisted the urge to put his fist through the damn clock.

Marshall pushed the button to shut off the alarm and tried to get a grip on reality. His head felt clouded but he felt wide-awake at the same time. It was a very strange sensation. He was considering going back to sleep, but just then Fionna burst into the room, already dressed in her usual blue-and-white ensemble, her green backpack strapped on her back.

"Marshall! Do you now what time it is?" she exclaimed.

"Um… six-thirty a.m.? Time to go back to sleep?" Marshall answered sleepily.

"WRONG!" Fionna screamed so forcefully that Marshall jumped, "IT'S ADVENTURE TIME!"

Marshall rolled his dark eyes, "Since when is going to school an _adventure_?" He asked

"Marshall, Marshall, Marshall, when will you ever learn that with me, it's always adventure time?" Fionna's sleepy tone of voice made Marshall realize that she was half-asleep.

He smiled and rolled his eyed again at the blonde-haired girl. Then he patted her be-bunnied head and pushed her oh-so-politely out the door so the he could get changed.

Marshall immensely disliked being forced to go to school during the day when he should be sleeping. Being a creature of the Night O'Sphere, he tended to be more active during the night (hence the term NIGHT O'Sphere). Being a high school student (despite being about 1,000 years old already) he was not _allowed_ to be active during the night, especially since he was a boarding student at Aaa Academy and often had a hell of a time sneaking out of the dorms after curfew. Seriously, with the amount of security they had on the dorms, you'd think they were containing prisoners, not students.

And then, of course, there was the six-thirty wake-up call, which was just the icing on the freaking cake. The only godsend for Marshall was the fact that he didn't have a roommate. He wasn't stuck rooming with Max or, glob forbid, _Lumpy Space Prince_ (insert shudder here). He didn't think a roommate would rat him out for sneaking out, per say, he just didn't want one nosing into his business, et cetera.

Marshall pulled on a red plaid shirt, a pair of jeans and a pair of fingerless gloves so that most of his body was protected from the sun and headed downstairs for breakfast.

"Good morning, Marshall!" Fionna greeted cheerily.

"Didn't you already give me a morning greeting?" Marshall inquired, raising one eyebrow.

"I was half-asleep!" she protested.

"Glad to know that instead of acting like a zombie when you're half-asleep, you act like a hyperactive squirrel." Marshall commented.

Fionna scowled at him, pouting, "You're mean, Marshall Lee!"

"I'm a vampire, it's an occupational hazard." But Marshall grinned at her to show that he was kidding.

"'Morning, Lee," Tris, Fionna's roommate yawned.

"Tris," Marshall nodded curtly in her direction.

"Wow, dude, is there, like, any setting on you _other_ than 'cold and sarcastic'?"

"I'm a vampire, it 's a occupational hazard," Marshall repeated, sticking his ice-cold hands on the back of Tris's neck. She yelped and elbowed him off of her.

"I don't like you," Tris pouted. Tris was from the Fire Kingdom and had a deep tan and fiery red hair. She looked like she could be a human like Fionna, but she was actually the princess of the Fire Kingdom. This morning, she had her hair tamed into a sleek tumble of curls, her usual ribbon decorating the left side. She wore a paint-stained, long-sleeved, V-neck shirt, a short, pleated skirt, a pair of black leggings, and a pair of converse-boots. She was very artsy and spunky.

Right then, Max slid down the stair rail.

"Marshall, stop harassing the ladies," he smiled. Max had got on quickly with everyone in their small boarding house. He had an infectious sense of good cheer and humor. He was charismatic and quite good at adapting. He could fit in with the slackers, like Marshall, the artists, like Tris, or even the populars, like Lumpy Space Prince. No one was really sure what he was or where he came from (he changed the story every time), though it was obvious that he wasn't human due to his unnatural purple-ish skin tone. Today he was wearing his usual ensemble of a fancy red shirt with epaulettes and a top hat which made him look like the ring leader of a circus.

"Yeah Marshall, stop picking on them," came a mocking voice from directly behind Max.

Suzanne had appeared out of thin air right next to Max. Marshall could see Max's eyes widen. It was obvious that he was resisting the urge to jump and shout "Holy crap! Don't sneak up on me like that!" but he simply shuddered and turned, trying to look collected.

"J-jeez, Zanne. Will you stop doing that?" He lost his cool on the second sentence and it came out sounding rather snappish.

"Stop doing what, Maximus?"

"Okay, well first of all, stop calling me Maximus. Please, call me Max. And second of all, please stop moving silently when you are behind me. Thank you."

"I'll stop calling you Maximus when you stop calling me Zanne," Suzanne countered.

Max blinked, "Well, you could have told me you didn't like nicknames," he mumbled, "I'll keep that in mind next time."

"Thank _you_. I'll try to make some noise when I move." Suzanne grinned at him.

Suzanne was a dark angel from somewhere far beyond Lumpy Space. She was pretty with her short, curly hair, dark, crooked halo, and large ebony wings, but she was a bit scary and unnerving sometimes.

"So, is everybody ready?" Tris questioned.

"Where's LSP?" asked Marshall at the same moment something purple, lumpy and floating barreled into his stomach, "Oof!"

"Oh my glob, like, Marshall, why are you just, like, lying on the floor?" Lumpy Space Prince said in his sadly teenaged-girl-like voice.

"Because I like lying on the floor LSP." Marshall said dryly.

Even LSP could detect the sarcasm in his voice. He floated up and dusted himself off, "Jeez, Marshall, there's, like, no need to be rude!"

"Yeah, jeez Marshall." Tris mocked

"_Now_ is everybody ready?" Max asked. Everybody nodded, "Okay, let's go, go, go!"

The six of them set off on their walk to school.

Fionna settled back into her hyperactive-ness, jumping and skipping around. Marshall floated nonchalantly beside her and Tris walked on her other side. Suzanne, Max, and LSP walked (well, LSP and Suzanne also floated) closely behind.

And then, Fionna started doing cartwheels.

"Fionna!" Tris and Marshall exclaimed at the same time

"What?" she asked while turning another cartwheel. Marshall grabbed her shoulder before she could do another.

"You're wearing a skirt!" He hissed, "We can all see your underwear when you go upside-down!"

Fionna looked embarrassed and quickly changed the subject, "Oh look, the sun's coming up!" and indeed it was, the clouds becoming tinged with pink as the sun peeked over the horizon.

Marshall hissed in surprise and quickly opened his umbrella, which cast him into deep shadow.

Tris grinned, "I love sunshine," She said.

"Yeah, well, you can go live on the surface of the sun for all I care! _I_ haven't been able to enjoy sunlight in a thousand years." Marshall grumbled from his shelter under the umbrella.

Tris scowled at him, "I'd flick you, but I can't see your face."

"Ha, ha." Marshall teased

**Fin! Nya-ha! Now do you think I'm going to let Marmar enjoy the solitude of being roommate-less? Of course not! Ha! Can you guess who his future roommate may be? Oh! And because I'm too lazy to go back and put this at the top I DO NOT OWN ADVENTURE TIME! Obviously my name is not Pendleton Ward or Natasha Allegri. So tune in next time and REVIEW PLEASE! :D**


	2. Pink Nightmare

**Omiglob u guys! I didn't expect to get a review on my first chapter, let alone three! My House of Anubis story took like three chapters to actually get a review. I was expecting Paige to review (plus I told her to) so really it was just two, but it's still more than I was really expecting, so thanks to Pat-975 for being the very first reviewer! Also thanks to the anonymous reviewer by the name of Sara because I can't PM you my gratitude! So, after that painfully long author's note, ON WITH THE STORY! Marshall: darkblack03 does not own me (psh, she wishes), Fionna, LSP, or Prince Gumball. She does not own Adventure Time, seeing as if she did her username would probably be PendletonWard03.**

Finally arriving at school, Marshall, Tris, and Max headed off to first period, which they had together.

Marshall immediately sat in the back corner, attempting to be inconspicuous so he could take a nap.

He wasn't that lucky: "Marshall Lee?" The teacher said in that tone of voice that Marshall loathed: the "you're-such-a-slacker-and-you're-getting-detention" tone of voice.

He sighed and floated to the front of the room.

"I'd like you to sit up here, please," The teacher said, "To make sure you're paying attention."

Marshall gave another annoyed sigh and sat down in front of Max.

"Wise seat choice my friend," Max said, "If you had picked the only other free seat in the front row, you'd be in front of Tris."

"What's _that_ supposed to mean, _Maximus_?" Tris demanded.

Marshall answered for him, "That you dislike me and would probably stab me with pencils if I sat in front of you."

"Oh," Tris said, "Yeah, that's probably true."

"Class!" The teacher called them all to attention, "We have a new student coming in today, and I expect you all to be kind to him."

And that was when someone geeky, scrawny, and pink who Marshall knew all too well entered the classroom.

"Oh, Lord," Marshall muttered, putting his head on the desk as Prince Bubba Gumball waltzed into the room.

"You can sit wherever you like, Gumball," the teacher said in that mushy voice she probably used for her thousand cats.

_Oh, sure,_ Marshall thought bitterly, _Perfect Prince Pinky gets to sit wherever _he_ wants._

And then, what should happen but Gumball plopping into the seat right next to him in the front row. _Why on earth would you do that? _Marshall demanded in his head, _glob, you're such a dork!_

"Good morning, Marshall Lee," Gumball greeted cheerily as he slid into the chair beside the moody vampire. He accidentally brushed Tris's hand with his back and she yanked it away like he had given her an electric shock. It was this violent movement that saved Marshall from having to greet Gumball back.

"Oh, hello!" Gumball said, "I don't believe we've met. I'm Prince Bubba Gumball of the Candy Kingdom. You may call me Gumball."

"I'm Princess Trista Sparks of the Fire Kingdom." Tris answered stiffly, which was strange for her. When she first met Marshall, she greeted him with a kick to the groin and an attempt to stake him until Fionna convinced her that he wasn't evil.

"You have a lovely name, Princess."

Tris's face flushed, "Oh, you can just call me Tris."

PG turned to Max, "I don't believe I've met you either."

"Who, me?" Max said, "Oh, I'm nobody." His mysterious tone of voice made a curious look alight on Gumball's face.

"His name is Maximus, but don't call him that or he'll yell at you like he did to poor Suzanne this morning." Marshall said.

"I didn't yell at her, I asked her politely to call me Max and to make some noise when she moves." Max replied haughtily, pretending to be angry with Marshall for ruining the mystery.

"I'm sorry, but what exactly are you?" Gumball asked Max politely.

"That, my friend, is the hundred-million dollar question. You'll never get an honest answer out of him on that subject." Marshall answered yet again, "He told me he was a sprite from the Ice Mountains."

"He told me he was a ghoul from the Night O'Sphere," Tris chimed in.

"He'd make a terrible ghoul," Marshall declared, "Not even scary enough to come from the Night O'Sphere, especially with that ridiculous shirt."

"Hey!" Max protested, "I like this shirt."

"Yes, I happen to think that shirt is quite-" Gumball began.

"Don't. Don't even." Marshall cut him off. Obviously, the guy didn't have very good taste in shirts since the one he usually wore was pink with puffy sleeves.

Gumball shut his mouth looking a little perplexed.

"Don't worry, he's a vampire, it's an occupational hazard to act like a girl on her period all the time." Tris assured him, "He'll bite your head off if you're not careful."

"And _she'll_ stab you with pencils if you're not careful, even when she's _not_ on her period. When she's PMSing you'll be lucky to get away with a kick in the gumballs." Marshall retorted coolly.

Tris flushed again and withdrew into sullen silence.

The rest of the class passed uneventfully. The next class was blissfully Gumball-free and Marshall succeeded in napping for most of the period until the teacher chewed him out and told him to pay attention. He went right back to sleeping anyways.

Third period was Marshall's first class of the day with Fionna and they were together for the rest of the day. Third period _also_ happened to be Gumball-free.

However, Fionna, unlike Marshall, seemed to be enjoying this increasingly annoying pink predicament. The first thing she said to him as she entered the classroom was: "Did you hear? Gumball's going to school here now!"

"Yeah," Marshall said unenthusiastically, "He's in my first period class. Whoop-de-freaking-doo."

"I know, right?" Fionna said excitedly.

"Did you not hear that entire sentence that dripped sarcasm?"

"I did, I just chose to ignore it." She replied.

"Mmm," Marshall said, "Tris has been teaching you too well."

"Seriously, Marsh, what is your problem with Gumball?"

"Mmm," Marshall repeated, "I can't put a finger on it exactly… maybe his dorkiness. It could be the dude's affinity for pink. Very probably his millions of adoring fangirls, you- and apparently Tris- being in those numbers."

Fionna blushed, "I'm not a Gumball fangirl." She said.

"Could have fooled me," Marshall scoffed.

"Seriously, dude, I'm not!" Fionna said, "Gumball and I are just bros. Like you and me."

"Don't you mean sisters?" Marshall muttered under his breath.

"What?"

"Nothing." He began to pretend that he was listening to the teacher, refusing to meet Fionna's gaze for the rest of class.

Gumball seemed to be freakin' everywhere after third period: At their lunch table, sitting right next to Marshall is Geography, behind him in Geometry, on his team for gym class, _and_ in front of him in study hall.  
>Suddenly, Marshall's day had gotten a whole lot worse. He jetted out of study hall with relief. No way was Gumball going to be in his next class: AP Music Theory. It was the only class Marshall paid attention in, excelled in even. He actually had an <em>A-<em> in Music Theory.

He settled in his seat, quite content to learn for once.

And then, to his horror, the pink nightmare walked in once more. Gumball's face lit up when he saw Marshall and he went and sat next to him.

Marshall had to stop himself from yelling "NOOO!" in a defeated manner like a villain in a movie that just got stopped by "Those meddling kids". No wait, that was Scooby-Doo. Whatever, same difference.

However, Marshall couldn't restrain himself from snapping, "What are _you_ doing here?"

Instead of answering Marshall's rude question, Gumball began rambling: "Ah, Marshall Lee, I thought you might be here. You _are_ quite musically talented. A _virtuoso_ one might say…"

"Look, Pinky, I _really_ don't care what one might refer to me as, I want to know why you're in AP Music Theory when you should be in your extra AP Scientology class or whatever right now."

"I thought I'd try something new."

"Yeah, but _AP_? You can barely hold a tune, let alone get the theory behind it."

"I like to challenge myself," Gumball looked slightly hurt.

"No offense, Bubba, but you'd be _challenged_ in concert choir. _Challenged_ is an understatement for AP Music Theory."

"Really, how hard can it be?"

The teacher, Ms. Currington, heard this question and looked at Gumball over her glasses in an almost disapproving manner.

"You'd be surprised, Bub." She told him.

It was a freaking _miracle_ seeing a teacher look at Gumball like that. That was the look they all gave Marshall, not Perfect Prince Gumball.

And one AP Music Theory lecture later, Gumball had the same glazed-over expression that Marshall got during Geometry.

"I'd suggest you _run_ to the guidance counselor to see if there are any openings in AP Scientology." Marshall whispered to him.

Gumball nodded numbly and bolted out of the classroom.

Marshall grinned and flew out the door after him.

**TiMe LaPsE**

When Marshall finally got to his dorm room, he was ready to take a nap. The Gumball-filled day had exhausted all his willpower to do homework (not that he really had any anyway).

He yawned and unbuttoned his shirt, slipping out of all his clothes and starting to tug a clean T-shirt over his head.

Suddenly, the door opened and an awfully familiar voice said: "Hello, Roommate!"

Marshall barely bothered to pull his shirt on all the way. He whipped around to find Prince Bubba Gumball standing in the doorway.

And this time, the vampire king couldn't restrain himself.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

**HA! I tend to torture the main/favorite character(s). I think I scarred Marshall for life. Fionna: You scarred him for life! Marshall: YOU SCARRED ME FOR LIFE! Me: apparently I did. Hey look! I remembered the disclaimer! Marshall: _I_ remembered the disclaimer. Me: Yeah, but you are under my command currently so I remembered it. Anyways, I feel like there're certain words that I use too much in every chapter. Last chapter they were 'floated' and 'mocked' this chapter it was 'tone of voice'. Hmm, whatever REVIEW! Next chapter is where the REAL plot begins!**


	3. Life is Like a Box of Chocolates

**You never know what you're gonna get! (If you are confused look to the chapter name and reminisce on the times of Forrest Gump. What a fantastic movie. And if you haven't seen it, you should. What kind of person hasn't seen Forrest Gump?) So anyways, thank you again so much Sara! (Also, to anonymous reviewers, they are activated, and I will send you a shout out in the actual fan fiction. If you don't want me to, just say so in the review) Today is my friend Paige's birthday, so I thought I'd update for her . So here comes the beginning of the actual plot! Oh yeah! I DO NOT OWNNNN!**

"Well, that was less than a warm welcome, Marshall Lee," Gumball looked slightly miffed.

Marshall scowled, "If you have a complaint, take it up with the housing director. _I _sure as hell am!"

"Why do you dislike me so much?" Gumball demanded.

"It's not you; I just _don't_ want a roommate." _Just, having _you_ as a roommate makes it worse. _Marshall left that last part unspoken.

"And why not?" Gumball asked.

"I'm a vampire. Vampires and roommates don't exactly mesh."

"Why not?"

"Dude, do you _want_ to sleep at night?"

"I'd like that, yes." Gumball replied.

"Well, I'm what you may call an _insomniac_."  
>"Have you tried counting sheep?" he asked helpfully. Not really.<p>

"Are you some kind of idiot?" Marshall asked seriously.

"I was trying to be helpful," Gumball said meekly.

"I'm from the Night O'Sphere, I don't _sleep_ at night, and won't that bother you? I'm gonna be moving around a lot and probably making noise. You won't be able to sleep a wink. Then you'll fall behind in AP scientology."

"It's science." Gumball corrected, "And if you don't like me, you can just tell me. I'm a big boy, Marshall Lee, I can handle it." Says the guy who can't defend himself against a cougar-witch with ice powers.

"THIS ISN'T ABOUT ME NOT LIKING YOU!" Marshall yelled, "IT'S ABOUT ME NOT WANTING A ROOMMATE!" He took a deep, deep (unnecessary) breath, trying to regain his composure.

"I'm going to bed." He clambered into the top bunk.

"What about homework?" Gumball asked.

Marshall lost his temper and grabbed the first (slightly) solid object he could grab hold of, flinging it at Gumball. Unfortunately, that object happened to be his old beat-up teddy bear, Hambo.

Gumball flinched until he realized what the furious vampire had just thrown at him. "A-a teddy bear?" Gumball almost laughed until he saw Marshall's eyes flash dangerously, "The great Vampire King Marshall Lee sleeps with a teddy bear?"

Suddenly, an angry vampire had him by the shirt collar, "Give. Me. The. Bear." Gumball handed the bear over, numb with fright.

"Speak of this to _no one_,"

Gumball nodded vigorously.

"Not. A. soul." Gumball nodded again and Marshall released the front of his shirt and clutched Hambo tightly.

The vampire king flew back up onto his bed just as Suzanne opened the door

"What's all the yelling going on up here?"

Marshall gave Gumball a deadly look, and then turned towards the wall to hide Hambo from view.

"We were just having a little tiff, that's all," Gumball chuckled nervously, "We sorted it out, no problem."

Suzanne looked skeptically at Marshall's back, but simply shrugged and exited the room.

Gumball sat down and stared nervously at Marshall's back for a while, but by the time he plucked up the courage to say anything, the other boy was already fast asleep.

*TiMe LaPsE*

Marshall awoke around dinnertime, but Gumball had lost his nerve to attempt to discuss the rooming situation with him. Marshall ignored him anyway.

They both headed downstairs to eat.

"Good morning, Marshall," Fionna laughed when she saw he was wearing his pajamas and his hair was all messy.

"Good efenink," Marshall said in a faux-Transylvanian accent. He grabbed her around the waist and put his mouth near her neck, "I vant to suck your blood."

Fionna blushed, batting Marshall's face away from her jugular.

"Stop it, Marsh, that's not funny." She said, "Everyone's staring." And indeed, everyone was. Tris was glaring at Marshall angrily like she thought he was actually planning on biting Fionna. Max and Suzanne were grinning at them impishly like they knew something Marshall and Fionna didn't. Gumball looked exasperated, like he couldn't believe Marshall had the nerve to flirt with Fionna so openly.

Marshall pursed his lips and released Fionna's waist.

"What are all the looks for? I was just kidding."

Gumball wiped the look off his face quickly. Max and Suzanne resumed the conversation they'd been having moments before. Tris, however, continued to give Marshall a dirty look.

"What?" Marshall asked, "Oh, wait, that's your usual expression towards me."

"No," Tris said, "_that_ was _not_ funny."

"You're kidding, right? You know I'd never do that to Fionna! Not unless she was, like, dying, and she asked me to, _and_ I had Cake's consent, maybe even yours…" Marshall trailed off, "Not that I need your permission, but I'd ask for it and even then I'd be reluctant to…" he shuddered at the thought of what he might do if he ever did bite Fionna.

Tris just scowled at him and went back to eating her dinner.

Marshall, being a vampire and not being able to eat normal food, went to rummage in the fridge for something red.

He selected a couple of apples and joined everyone else at the table.

Marshall's meal was short-lived due to the fact that that it takes very little time to suck the color out of something. He sat at the table for a while, listening to the idle chatter around him, but he quickly got bored and retreated up to his room.

As the vampire floated over the threshold, he noticed something that had not been there before: a box of chocolates. Marshall picked up the box and read the small card attached. The letters looked like they had been cut out of a magazine, serial killer-style: _tO_ _gUmbaLL, I hOPe Our LoVE can bE As sWeeT aS tHesE ChOcOlAtEs._

Marshall set them back on the ground, feeling rather disgusted. Gumball had been here for less than a day and he was already getting love chocolates from freaky-stalker-ninja-fangirls.

Gumball came up sometime later and made a noise of surprise when he nearly stepped on the box of chocolates.

"Oh!" He picked up the box and read the card too, "Really, can't a prince gat _any_ peace around here?"

"Why're you upset that you have freaky-stalker-ninja-fangirls?" Marshall asked.

"Must I really answer that, Marshall Lee?" Gumball responded, seeing as the question rather answered itself.

"Ah… no. Don't bother."

Gumball sighed and opened the box, "Oh, well. Would you like one?"

"Oh, ah, I can't… really. Can't eat brown…" The vampire mumbled.

Gumball shrugged and bit into a chocolate indulgently, "Look, Marshall Lee, they're filled with raspberry!" He showed Marshall the red liquid oozing from the center.

"Fine," Marshall sighed. It was obvious to him that Gumball was not going to give up the idea of sharing his chocolates.

He sank one fang into the chocolate Gumball had offered him and sucked out all the filling until the chocolate collapsed from the hollow in its center.

Gumball gave him half the box before Marshall refused to eat anymore. The prince himself had eaten only a few chocolates, and the vampire was sure he was attempting to make some sort of peace offering by allowing him most of the box.

Little did both boys know, that innocent box of chocolates would almost kill them, Fionna, _and_ Max within the course of a few weeks.

**Ooh, evil chocolates! Marshall: Yeah, life is like a box of chocolates, just stay away from the p- Me: *slaps hand over Marshall's mouth* No spoilers Marshie! So! Do I sense a little awkward MLXPG tension? No I don't because this is a FioLee fan fiction… but it still seemed very bro-ish. Secretly, they like each other Marmar just acts like he doesn't like PG because he's a boiling pit of jealousy! Marshall: I am NOT jealous! Me: Shut up and sit in the corner with Fionna! So anyway, REVIEW please! Constructive criticism is accepted, flames will be used to cook enchiladas!**


	4. Not as Planned

**Okay, I've been putting this off for way too long now. I was running behind schedule while writing this due to writer's block, but then it turned into like twelve pages in my journal which is more than twice as long as my minimum and I really didn't wan to type up something that long. But I must so I will. Here is chapter 4 enjoy. I DO NOT OWN ADVENTURE TIME!**

"What are you doing, Marshall Lee?" Gumball sat up, startling the Vampire King. If his heart could still beat, Marshall would have had a mini-heart attack.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm taking a nighttime fly because I'm getting claustrophobic, man! You can't restrict a nocturnal immortal like this or they'll eat their roommate!"

If Gumball was fazed by this comment, he didn't let on. "If you leave this room, I'll have to tell the dorm adviser."

Marshall restrained himself from strangling the Candy Prince. Of course, he _would_ get the roommate that would not only nose into his business, but would also rat him out for sneaking out.

"How would you feel if I told you that you couldn't do your physics homework? It's something that you practically need to survive! _I_ need to escape once in a while. _Please?_"

"I'm sorry Marshall Lee, but I can't allow you to break the rules so openly."

Marshall gave him a deadpan look, "Don't _make_ me throw my teddy bear at you again! Hambo'll eat you face!"

"Why don't you _try_ to sleep? Then you might actually focus your attentions on your studies instead of cat-napping in class." Gumball said.

"I've _tried _to sleep! Now I'm trying to get all my energy out so I _can_ sleep."

"Why don't you just climb into bed and close your eyes?"

"Because I don't want to."

"Just do it." Gumball said in his commanding princely voice. The prince couldn't see the dirty look Marshall was giving him in the darkness, but the vampire grudgingly obliged and flew back up onto the top bunk.

Marshall Lee didn't get a wink of sleep that night and instead of bolting upright at the sound of the alarm clock, he gave a frustrated scream and buried his head in his pillow. Gumball was so surprised by this violent reaction that jumped and hit his head on the bottom of Marshall's bed.

A second later, someone kicked the door open and Gumball fell off the bottom bunk in fright. Apparently the candy prince wasn't immune to mini-heart attacks like Marshall was.

"Who's dying!" A wild-eyed Fionna demanded. She was wielding her crystal sword, still in her night gown, hair falling messily out of the hat that she barely ever took off.

"No one yet," Marshall said darkly, "But a certain pink pushover may be soon."

"I was merely following the rules. You don't scare me, Marshall Lee!" Gumball said, picking himself up off the floor.

"Oh, really?" Marshall opened his mouth wide, forked tongue sticking out. His mouth was suddenly full of sharp teeth, his eyes glowing blue. He gave a threatening hiss and even Fionna stepped back, looking slightly horrified.

The vampire's face returned to normal and he laughed at Gumball's expression. "You should see your face right now, You look like you're going to piss yourself!"

"That wasn't funny, Marshall!" Fionna chucked her sword at him. The pommel of the sword caught him on the head with a _clunk_.

"Ow, what the stuff Fionna, I was only proving a point!"

"_That _was for creeping me the math out!" Fionna stuck up her nose and turned to leave, "I'm going to get dressed."

Marshall sighed and flew off the bed, his feet floating a few inches off the ground. He slipped his T-shirt off over his head right when Fionna popped her head into the room once more.

"By the way, Marsh-"

"Fionna! Shield your innocent eyes! He's indecent!" Gumball shouted.

"Oh, shut up." Marshall grumbled, "It's not like she hasn't seen me shirtless before. Right, Fi?"

Fionna blushed a little but nodded all the same, "Er, as I was saying, it's raining today."

"YES!" Marshall exclaimed, "Now I don't have to carry around an umbrella!"

"Isn't that a little contradictory?" Gumball questioned, "And wouldn't it be considered a parasol as it shields you from the sun?"

The Vampire King bristled, "No, it's an umbrella! Parasols are for girls! And who cares about getting wet? Rain equals daytime freedom for vampires!"

After everyone had gotten dressed and eaten breakfast, the group set off for school.

While Marshall reveled in the rain, Tris was not so happy. Her fiery hair had turned and odd ashy gray color, like a fire that had gone out.

"Will you stop acting like an idiot?" She snapped at Marshall while holding her school bag over her head in an attempt to stop the rain from touching her.

"I love the rain." Marshall said simply, "I say, let it rain, let it pour!" He sang the last few words in an improvised tune.

"Yeah, well _I _say rain, rain, go away. Come again another day. If you don't, I don't care, I wouldn't give half a sh-"

"The unladylike word you're about to say doesn't rhyme with 'care'" Marshall pointed out. Then he floated a little closer to her to whisper to her, "Plus, it ain't gonna win you any points with Bubba."

Tris scowled at the vampire and swatted him away with her already raised school bag. She quickly walked as far away from him as possible, muttering something about "damn vampires" as she went.

"You know, that won't either!" Marshall called after her.

The fire princess was sorely tempted to make an extremely rude gesture at him, but she resisted because she knew he was right. Not that she'd _ever_ admit that Marshall Lee was ever right about anything, but he was right about her crush on Gumball. Again, not that she's _ever_ admit that she had a crush on Gumball, but still. She would make rude gestures at Marshall later, when Gumball wasn't around to see.

And that was about when Tris slipped and landed on her butt right in puddle.

"ARGH! That's it! I'm going home!"

"You know, you and Marshall are a lot alike." Max mused.

"We are not!" Tris and Marshall said in unison.

"You both have similar reactions to frustrating situations; you're both hot-headed. You have more in common than you know!"

"That doesn't necessarily mean we're alike!" Tris said.

"I think the fact that you're so alike is why you fight so much." Max continued, "There's only room for one stubborn royal and the other is just butting in."

"I am _not_ stubborn!" Tris protested. Marshall seemed to have lost interest in the conversation, but Tris sure hadn't. She argued with Max the whole way to school.

"And now we're at school and you _can't_ go home." Max grinned at her

"You little imp, that was your plan all along, wasn't it?" Tris demanded

"Why, yes, yes it was."

This time, Tris stormed off muttering about stupid purple imps.

And that's what led to Marshall Lee sitting in the front of his first period class with Tris making rude gestures at him and Max behind Gumball's back.

Gumball looked a bit pale himself. Maybe he was allergic to rain like Tris was.

Marshall snorted a little to himself as he lost himself in daydreams of all the pranks he could play on Gumball now that they were roommates.

"Marshall Lee!" The teacher barked, "Pay attention!"

Marshall collected himself and tried to pretend he was paying attention.

The day crawled by as slowly as it possibly could and Marshall was beginning to feel groggy by the time study hall ended and it was time for Music Theory.

He wondered if being sleep deprived affected vampires really badly. He hoped not…

"Marshall!" Ms. Currington called him over, "You're friends with the ginger, right?"

Marshall blinked, "The ginger?"

"Yes, the fire princess"

"Oh, _that_ ginger. She's not exactly my friend… er… she kind of hates me…"

"That's what you get for fooling around in the Fire Kingdom!" Ms. Currington chuckled.

"Yes, I know her. She's in my boarding house." Marshall ignored the teacher's comment.

"Fantastic, could you give this to her? She's auditioning for the school play and this is the music for it." She handed the vampire a package, "You could take a look at it too, if you're interested."

He nodded, "Yeah, no pro…" he trailed off, a strange look in his eyes.

"Marshall?" Ms. Currington tapped him on the shoulder, "Marshall Lee? Are you alright?"

Marshall blinked and shook his head, trying to clear it of the strange fog that seemed to have overtaken his brain.

"I'm…" He said faintly, "I'm fine…" But the fog was closing in again and it was clogging his head. He couldn't hear Ms. Currington anymore, couldn't even register that she was still right next to him, trying to get him to respond.

Marshall's vision became fuzzy around the edges as the fog started to obscure his sight. His stomach gave a lurch and he realized dully that he was falling. His knees met the ground with a pain he couldn't feel and his eyes rolled back in his head as he slumped over and the darkness overtook his vision.

**TiMe LaPsE**

Marshall opened his eyes slowly as a shadow passed over his face. He looked up at the concerned eyes leaning over him.

"Mm… Fi- Fionna?"

A bit of relief crept into Fionna's expression.

"He's awake!" She called to someone over her shoulder.

"Ah, yes." Doctor Prince bustled over, "Can you sit up, Marshall Lee?"

Marshall sat up, feeling completely fine.

"Do you know where you are?" Doctor Prince questioned

"The infirmary." Marshall replied

"The infirmary where?"

"The infirmary at Aaa Academy."

"Do you remember why you're here?"

"I passed out in Music Theory." This Q&A was getting really old, really fast.

"Do you have any theories as to why you passed out?

"Probably because I'm sleep-deprived." Marshall yawned for emphasis

Doctor Prince nodded and began examining the Vampire King's eyes with a flashlight. "Dilation normal…" He murmured, and then flicked Marshall on the forehead.

The vampire hissed and recoiled. "Reflexes normal… okay then, Marshall Lee, I give you a clean bill of health."

"Sweet, thanks Doctor Prince!" Fionna said, grabbing Marshall's arm and steering him out of the room.

Marshall heard Doctor Prince muttering something behind them.

"That place freaks me out!" Fionna shuddered.

"Why? Marshall questioned.

"It just gives me that hospital feel, that's all. I don't like that feeling."

Marshall grinned at her and rolled his eyes, continuing to allow himself to be steered all the way to their boarding house.

"I'm going to go take a shower." He said when Fionna finally removed her hands from his back. Not that he was complaining. Fionna's hands were so warm against he cold, dead skin. Marshall blinked and shook his head to clear it of that thought.

He flew up the stairs and straight into the bathroom, stopping only a second to grab a towel.

He unbuttoned his shirt and peeled off the rest of his clothes and jumped into the shower, not bothering to adjust the water temperature because just about anything felt warm to a vampire.

There was a sudden knock on the door.

"Come in," Marshall said, not particularly caring who it was because he had the curtain drawn and no one would be able to see anything anyways.

"Hey Marsh…" Fionna's voice came from the other side of the curtain.

"Is there… something you need?" Marshall asked, unsure as to why Fionna of all people was intruding on his shower.

"No, I just wanted to talk. We haven't just _talked_ in a while…"

"And so you chose to talk to me while I was taking a shower?"

He could almost see Fionna's blush through the curtain, "Well, yea… It's just… I have a weird feeling…"

"About what? Marshall questioned.

"About us… you… er, never mind, Marsh, don't worry about it."

"Okay…"

"So… What _is_ your problem with Gumball exactly?" She asked off handedly.

This was a touchy subject for the Vampire King because it involved actually revealing some emotions he'd rather not have exposed, especially to Fionna. Mostly because some of those emotions pertained more to _Fionna_ than _Gumball_.

So he told half the truth, "It's just, he acts like he expects everything and everyone to be perfect and treat him like freaking God. And he doesn't like me either because I don't treat him like the sweet-like-candy King of the world he thinks he is. It's like I'm not even really a person, I'm just a problem that can be solved with a science equation."

"Gumball doesn't act like that!" _There she goes, _Thought Marshall, irritated, _jumping to his defense _again.

"Do you know the _real_ Gumball, Fionna?"

"I'd like to think so, yes. You and him are my best friends in the world other than Cake!"

"Do you like him?" Marshall said nonchalantly.

"Did I not just say you and him are my best friends?"

"No, I mean, do you _like-_like him?"

Marshall imagined he turning red all over again, but to his great surprise, she just snorted.

"Please, _Gumball_? Maybe when I was thirteen and naïve, but not any more."

"Why is it naïve to be in love with Bubba?"

"Because he's a prince and I'm an adventuress. You hear the stories with the prince and princess, or maybe even the adventur_er_ and the princess, but not the adventuress." Fionna said.

"So marrying is not an option for an adventuress?"

"No one likes the adventuress like that." Marshall Lee detected a note of sadness in her voice, "Especially not the chubby one who still wears her bunny hat from childhood."

"Don't say that…"

"Well? Do _you _know anyone who likes me like that?"

"It's not about having guys line up at your door to date you, Fi. You're not chubby; you're _curvy_, which is a lot more attractive than those skin-and-bones sticks of princesses. And the hat just shows your cute personality. It's endearing." Marshall didn't even give a thought to the fact that he had called her attractive and cute in the same paragraph. "And since when do you care about what other people think about you? Did hell freeze over and pigs learn to fly without me knowing about it?"

"Well, I'm not sure about hell, but I think it's actually possible for pigs to fly. Pretty much anything is possible in Aaa."

"This, I suppose, is why we have candy people and people made of breakfast foods."

Fionna giggled, and Marshall was glad that the pity party had ended.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door and entered. Marshall could hear the thick awkward silence when whoever it was came face-to-face with Fionna.

Then whoever it was made a strange noise and Marshall immediately knew it was Gumball.

"Fi-Fionna! Why are you in here while Marshall Lee is in the shower?" Gumball demanded.

"Chill, Gummy, we were just talking." Marshall said, turning off the shower and reaching out to grab his towel. He had no desire to show either of the others anything more than they needed to see.

He stepped out with the towel wrapped tightly around his waist and Gumball made another strange noise.

"Marshall Lee! You're poisoning her innocent eyes!"

"I have a towel, don't I?" Marshall said, "Again, _nothing _she hasn't seen before."

"Especially because I've seen all of him," Muttered Fionna so quietly that only Marshall's sensitive ears picked it up.

"You what?" He said blankly, hoping he'd misheard her.

"Nothing!" She said too quickly.

"No. You _what_?"

"I said nothing!" Fionna wilted under the vampire's stare and gave in, "Okay, fine. Remember that time when Cake and I hid in your closet that one time because we thought you were gonna kill us? Well, I went to go see if the coast was clear so we could leave, but I ended up crawling into the bathroom where you were undressing to get into the shower…"

Gumball gasped, "You've stained her virgin eyes!"

"Oh, shut up," Fionna said, "It was my own fault. Sometimes you're just too uptight about things."

"Sometimes you're not uptight enough…" Marshall murmured, still in shock.

"I demand that you leave before he ruins your innocence even more that he already has!"

"Stop being such a pushover all the time Gumball! I can take care of myself! In fact, _I'm_ the one who's _always_ saving _you_ from crazy cougar-witches! _You're _the one who needs to be taken care of!" Fionna yelled at him.

"Fionna! I-I must insist you-" Gumball spluttered.

"I don't need you to tell me what to do." Fionna said coldly and exited the bathroom.

Tris poked her head in, "What's going on?"

She got no response from the shocked prince and the even more shocked vampire.

"Hello? Anybody in there?" Tris knocked on Marshall's forehead.

"I cannot believe that just happened…" He muttered.

"What happened?" The fire princess asked.

\ Marshall simply shook his head and walked out of the bathroom.

"Okay… nobody going to explain? Gumball?"

"I don't know exactly…" The prince murmured.

"That's not helpful."

But Gumball shook his head, too and left.

"What's with the vague head shakes?" Tris yelled at his back.

Gumball turned around and made a noise that sounded even stranger than the ones he had made before. It almost sounded like… Tris jumped out of the way just in time for him to vomit right where he'd been standing.

"Oh, glob! Are you okay?"

Gumball swayed slightly and Tris just managed to catch him before he fell to the floor himself.

"Well. This is _not_ what I was planning on doing with my Thursday afternoon."

**Finally! It's finished! Okay so here it is! I need to actually write the next chapter :P In response to the anonymous reviewer (whose name I'm too lazy to look up) I think I explained this in the very first chapter: I cannot make a story without making at least one OC. For this story, I made Tris because I needed someone to put with Gumball because I can't stand when there is a perfectly eligible bachelor who doesn't have another person to couple them with. I was originally going to make Max a villain, but then I decided I liked him too much so I made him a good guy (I've still got plans for him though) And then I needed a girl for him too so that's where Suzanne came from. Sorry long explanation, but… yeah, that's why I have OC's :P**


	5. And so it Begins

**Thank you to Anonymous for reviewing! I updated quickly for you! ^^ So here you guys are! New chapter the day after! Not bad! I do not own because I was not cool enough to think up these characters, except Max, Tris and Suzanne. Read on! :D **

Both Gumball and Marshall were miserable the next day. Gumball had been moaning and groaning the whole night and Marshall hadn't been able to sleep.

Gumball was as sick as a dog and couldn't hold anything down so he stayed in the dorm.

Instead of enjoying the blissfully Gumball-free day, Marshall had a major headache, which was weird because he hadn't had a headache since he became a vampire. He was beginning to think something was seriously wrong with him.

He kept blacking out at random times, too, but every time he was at his desk so it just looked like was dozing off in class like he normally did. Nobody seemed concerned that he looked like a zombie. Well, more than usual, anyways.

Everyone was too concerned with Gumball to notice that he didn't respond when they asked him questions. It wasn't until he collapsed in the middle of the hallway that people began to be concerned.

When he came to, Marshall was once again in the infirmary with Fionna standing over him.

"Hmph. Déjà vu."

Fionna allowed herself a tight smile.

"You okay?"

"No, Marshall, I'm worried about you. This is the second time this has happened, and I'm scared it won't be the last."

Despite the fact that he was kind of worried too, he couldn't help but smile internally. At least someone was worried about him.

Doctor Prince wanted to keep him in the infirmary for observation, but Marshall refused and went with Fionna back to the boarding house. Fionna followed him up all the way to his room and hung nervously by the doorway as he entered.

And when he did, Marshall got a huge surprise: The Ice Queen was kneeling by Gumball's bed, sobbing her brains out like he had died.

"Why are you here?" Marshall demanded.

"Ohhh!" The Ice Queen wailed, "This is all my fault!"

"What?" Marshall asked blankly as Fionna rushed in hearing the strange noises. She readied her sword, but Marshall put a hand on her arm, waiting for the witch to answer his question.

"I-I was j-just trying to get him t-to like me!" The Ice Queen burst into another fit of tears and it took her a few seconds to calm herself enough to speak again, "H-he got my chocolates didn't he?"

"Chocolates…?" Marshall asked, confused. Then it dawned on him, "_You_ were the crazy-stalker-ninja fan girl who left him those raspberry-filled chocolates?"

"They were filled with love potion!" The Queen wailed, "B-but now I know I botched the recipe! He shouldn't be sick; he should be falling at my feet like all the princes should!"

_Yep, she's completely crazy,_ Marshall thought to himself. Then he had a thought that brought him up short.

"Wait a second. _I _had some of those chocolates!"

"You _what?_" The Ice Queen demanded.

"Gumball was trying to make a peace offering so he shared his chocolates with me." Marshall said, secretly relieved that the potion had been botched and therefore he was not infatuated with the Ice Queen.

"That is tough for you, Marshall Lee. You see, a botched love potion becomes a lethal poison. It's a long, tortuously slow process, but it can kill anything. Even…" The Ice Queen cackled a bit, "the Vampire King!" She burst into a fit of insane laughter.

"If what you're saying is true, then… isn't Gumball going to die too?"

The Ice Queen's laughs turned into wailing once again.

"Is there any way you can heal them?" Fionna asked desperately.

"I-I can heal one of them temporarily. B-but there is only one true cure! You must find the man who I bought it from!"

"Deal! You heal Marshall, and he and I will go get the cure! Where is the man you bought it from?"

"What? No! If I was going to prolong anyone's life, it would be my Gumball's!"

"To be perfectly honest, Gumball would be useless to me on a quest. If you want the permanent cure for Gumball, you have to heal Marshall. I need at least one other person to help me with this, and Marshall is probably the most powerful, and therefore he'd be the most useful and we can make it back here faster. Now heal him!"

The Ice Queen huffed, "Fine. The man lives in the Ice Mountains. He's mainly nomadic, so you have to really search him out. He goes by the name of Marx."

"Okay. Now heal Marshall!" Fionna demanded.

The Ice Queen laid a hand against Marshall's cheek and a strange gust seemed to travel from her to him.

"There, now hurry! They both have limited time!"

"Let's go, Marshall."

The vampire and the adventuress rushed down the stairs. Marshall began to gather the few things he might need, given that Fionna was always packed for an adventure.

They found Tris downstairs and Fionna filled her in on the situation.

"Take care of him, okay Tris? Gumball needs you right now."

Tris nodded, "And you take care of _him_." She nodded in Marshall's direction, "Who knows what'll happen out there. And Marshall Lee! Protect her with your life or you're going to get hurt when you come back!"

"I was planning to do so anyways." Marshall answered, "Let's go Fionna."

Tris and Fionna hugged goodbye and the vampire and the adventuress set off on one of their most dangerous adventures yet. And this time, it really was life or death.

**TiMe LaPsE**

After hours of traveling they had made it pretty far into the land of Aaa. However, they were still nowhere close to their destination. The Ice Mountains were quite far from the Academy and they had very little time.

They rested for a few minutes every hour, but were quickly back on their feet. Time was of the essence here and they need to move quickly.

By the time the already gray sky began to turn black, they were about halfway to their destination.

"Get some rest. I'll keep watch. I can't sleep at night anyways." Marshall said to Fionna.

The girl looked like she wanted to protest, but she was exhausted from the day of journeying that she found she couldn't. She drifted off to sleep without a word.

The rain was worse than ever that night and Marshall did his best to shield the sleeping human from the cold downpour. She seemed so fragile. He knew that if she got too cold or too wet, she could get sick and die. If she got into a fight with something, it could easily snap her in two. But of course, Fionna never let size or cold or anything get in her way.

Marshall smiled to himself at the thought of how headstrong Fionna could be.

By dawn, the sky was still dark gray and Marshall hoped it would stay overcast for a while. He woke Fionna and they began the next leg of their journey.

It was slow. So slow. Fionna and Marshall went as fast as they could, but it didn't help when they had to pick their way around obstacles and strange creatures that inhabited the land of Aaa. As they neared the Candy Kingdom, they knew that they were getting close.

"Do you think we should go get Cake?" Marshall asked as they past by the pink city, which was totally oblivious to the plight their prince was now in.

"No. I don't want her in danger. And I want to show her I can handle things without her. I'm going this alone… with you of course."

Marshall chuckled a bit and they continued past the Candy Kingdom and finally into the Ice Mountains. Fionna pulled out her yellow sweater and put it on to block out the cold.

"So." She said, "Where do we start?"

"I don't know. Maybe we should ask around. Maybe a penguin or an ice giant will know where to find this mysterious Marx guy…"

**Meanwhile, back at Aaa**

Tris had explained the situation to everyone in the boarding house.

"What exactly are they going after?" asked Max.

"They went to find a man who lives in the Ice Mountains. He is said to have the cure to the poison that is now inside Gumball's body. Apparently, he goes by the name Marx."

Max stiffened at the name. _No. There's no way._

"Something wrong?" Suzanne asked him

"N-no…" Max turned away from them, "I-I have to go."

Just a few minutes later, Max had a small bag packed and he slipped out the front door unnoticed.

"Max is gone."

**Dun dun dunn! So the quest begins. I bet you might have been expecting that the chocolates were poisoned. So anyways, here's chapter five. Sorry for its shortness *sad face* Anyways, REVIEW!**


	6. A Bump in the Road

**Okay I got the most amazing review I ever got in my life. It just made my entire day. I'd love to put it on here but it was really long so I think you guys should just go to the review section and read it for yourself. So thanks again to Anonymous (yes, it was you I was talking to before also because I only got 2 reviews on the last chapter. The other one was a member and I PMed her and I always give shout outs to anonymous reviewers on the actual story) So anyways thank you Anonymous! You made my day! And to eliissexy thank you for giving this story a chance! It's people like you who give me faith to continue this! I only own my characters and the plot, nothing more, nothing less!**

"Max is gone." Suzanne, who was usually so calm, seemed rather frantic to find the purple boy missing.

"What?" Tris demanded.

"Max is gone! He's not in his room or in the basement or anything! He's just completely disappeared!"

"Are you sure he hasn't just gone out somewhere?"

"Yes! When I looked in his room, his drawers were practically empty and his duffel bag is gone! He ran away!" Suzanne was practically pulling feathers out of her wings she was so worried.

"He probably went after Fionna and Marshall." Tris tried to console her.

"That is exactly what I'm worried about! How knows how dangerous it is?" Suzanne was not comforted by the notion of him going off and getting himself killed.

"Max can take care of himself. I'm sure he'll be fine. And Marshall and Fionna too."

"I hope you're right…"

**Meanwhile…**

After trying and failing to communicate with penguins and ice giants for hours, Fionna and Marshall were frustrated and cold and altogether ready to give up on ever finding this guy Marx. Marshall kicked over a snowman, who reformed instantly and waved an angry fist at him. Marshall made a rude gesture at him and flew away before it could get angry at him.

"No luck?" Fionna asked when he returned to their makeshift base, a snow fort they had made for a bit of shelter.

"No luck." Marshall confirmed with a sigh.

"Gosh where the heck could you live in the Ice Kingdom other than a cave or something?"

"I don't know!" Marshall snapped. They were both exhausted and short tempered from the cold and searching so long with no avail.

"Don't yell at me Marshall Lee!" Fionna snapped back, "I'm sick of you and your- Hey, what's that?"

Marshall followed the line of her finger and saw a tiny column of smoke rising from some place in the mountains.

"Jackpot." He grinned, "Let's see if we can find whoever it is who built that fire in the Ice Kingdom."

**Meanwhile**

Max followed the path as quickly as he possibly could. The Ice Kingdom was quite far from Aaa Academy, even as the crow flies, but this path was the quickest route. Unfortunately, Fionna and Marshall had whole hours of a head start on him and he needed to get there before them.

_There's no way they're going to live through an encounter with Marx. Unexpected visitors don't bode well with him. Oh, glob he's going to kill them! If I could only get there faster maybe I could convince my fa-_

Something swooped down in front of his face and broke his train of thought. He realized he'd been speaking out loud for quite a while there.

The crow that had almost collided with him landed in a tree nearby and cawed at him. This was a warning. He was almost there.

_Good. Maybe I'll get there in time. Maybe I'll be able to stop Marx from hurting them. Maybe I will finally be able to face him down._

** Fionna and Marshall**

The trek through the mountains was frigid and long. Fionna nearly fell half a dozen times and Marshall ended up carrying her after she twisted her ankle. It was a lot quicker with them both flying, but it was still slow going. As they reached a ledge to rest, they found someone sitting there. Fionna and Marshall looked at each other.

The person on the ledge turned towards them and removed their hood, revealing a girl probably no older than Fionna.

"Are you in need of help?" The girl asked, looking from the adventuress to the vampire.

Fionna and Marshall shared another long look before Fionna answered, "We're searching for a man named Marx. Do you know where lives?"

"Marx is known for being nomadic. And I suggest you be careful when searching him out. He doesn't like unexpected visitors."

"It's a life or death situation. Please do you know where he is?"

"Perhaps," The girl answered vaguely, "however, if I help you, you must help me in return. Is that understood?"

Fionna and Marshall both nodded.

"Then I can show you to him. And one more thing. Someone is looking for you. I cannot tell if he means well or if his intentions are bad, but just be aware."

Fionna and Marshall glanced at each other meaningfully and then looked to the girl again.

"Then let us go." There was a strange swirl of darkness and suddenly, the vampire and the adventuress were in a valley, two mountains rising ominously on either side. Snow swirled viciously around them and they realized that they were completely alone. Before them stood a giant structure that looked like a fort.

"I thought he was nomadic." Fionna muttered.

"Maybe it's a collapsible fort…" Marshall said.

"That doesn't seem very likely…"

"Halt! Who goes there?" demanded a voice from a little ways behind them. The two spun around to find a man dressed in a guard's uniform pointing a strange looking weapon at them. Fionna fingered her sword tentatively, but refrained from attacking just yet.

"I am Fionna the human. And this is Marshall Lee the Vampire king. We have to speak with Mr. Marx. It's really urgent."

"Well isn't this a surprise!" The guard said with a light tone. Then his tone changed and became darker and kind of scary, "Too bad Mr. Marx doesn't like surprises."

And before either of them could react, the man had fired his weapon at both of them in turn. Both felt sharp stings in their necks. Fionna blacked out almost immediately. Marshall held out only long enough to hear the guard call in reinforcements.

"You take the girl. Human. The last if what they say is true. I'm sure Marx would love to see her before she is executed. Who knows? Maybe she'll be spared to be put in a sideshow."

"No…" Marshall managed to choke out. But his vision was being overtaken by black spots and he was consumed by the darkness…

**Another dun dun dunn moment! Here is where some real action begins. The quest has already hit a major bump. And if you want to know, that girl isn't important for this story anymore, but she will be late because I'm planning on making a sequel already :P Two chapters in one day! W0oT! **


	7. Marx

**Okay! I got my first ever flame! Troll ambassador, your flame has been noted and will be used to cook enchiladas and has now been deleted because I don't want your negativity defacing my review section! I have explained this many times and I am sick of it. I CANNOT MAKE A STORY WITHOUT OCS! And what the heck? "No one cares about stupid characters of your own creation?" Really? Would say that to the MAKERS of the show! Because it was their OC's that made the show to begin with. This site is for those who are imaginative and have ideas for things that they think would go well in the plot and stuff. OCs are a part of that. Get over it and stop whining because I actually have creativity to create new characters. If you don't like it, don't read it, just don't leave me annoying reviews like that. I would graciously accept constructive criticism if it had been put politely, but that was just mean and your use of language was not appreciated You could have said "This story might be better if you had left out the OC's" And then I wouldn't have to rant like this and bore the people who aren't rude and actually like the story. And just for your information, :| Doesn't look like a troll face. I apologize to those of you who are reading this for the plot and not my rant-y author's notes but that made me angry because it wasn't even criticizing the writing it was the fact that I put in something that made sense to me. Thank you Sara for reviewing once again and you're welcome for the shout-outs! So, apologies for that… on with the story. I do own my stupid OCs and the plot but I don't own any other characters!**

Marshall Lee awoke to find himself on a cold, hard floor. Windowless walls enclosed him on three sides and the other had a heavy iron door that was obviously locked. Curled up next to him a warm little ball was Fionna, still out cold. He sighed in relief. At least she was okay.

The vampire sat up gingerly, taking in the situation. There was no way out except through the door. They were trapped like a couple of animals.

_Damn it. We've got to get out of here!_ Marshall frantically began to search for another way out, but of course, there was none. He clawed at the walls like a crazy person, and hammered at each one until it hurt.

"Food for the prisoners." Someone's gruff voice announced and a tray came sliding through a grate near the floor. On it was a hunk of bread and a glass of water. Marshall pushed it towards Fionna's still sleeping figure. He couldn't eat it anyways.

The rest of what he assumed was the day was spent pacing around the tiny cell, trying to get rid of all the adrenaline he was feeling. Fionna woke up at about the time Marshall had finally exhausted himself, which he assumed to be about dawn of the next day.

"Marshall?" She asked, sitting up and rubbing her eyes, "Where the math are we?"

"Trapped." Marshall answered tersely. He didn't know how else to put it.

"Did we find him?" Fionna was obviously still not grasping the situation at hand.

"He found us."

"Algebraic!"

"No, Fionna, it's not algebraic! He's got us trapped and he's probably planning evil things for us! And we most definitely are not making it back, at least not in time so save Gumball!"

"B-but Marshall..."

"Fionna, don't you get it..? There's nothing we can do. We're stuck here. They've got all of our supplies. We're sitting ducks." An edge of hopelessness had crept into Marshall's voice.

Fionna had never seen Marshall Lee anything short of cocky and confident. I scared her to see him abandoning hope already. Then it hit her. Not only was he in danger of losing his own life, but she and Gumball were also in danger. It must be tearing him up inside because he'd already seen so many mortal friends grow old and die and now here they were, setting themselves up for premature death.

"Don't count us out just yet, Marshie. We'll get out of here, I know we will." Fionna put on her most determined face and pulled him into a hug. Marshall seemed stunned for a moment, but gave her a quick hug back. "Let's get out of here."

Marshall nodded and Fionna stood up, her eyes burning with determination. She strode to the door and hammered on it vigorously.

"What?" Came the cranky demand from the guard.

"It is unfair and totally un-math to lock us in here with no explanation. I demand to know why we are being contained like this and where you have taken our supplies."

"I don't know." The guard said, "And I don't care. I'm just doing my job little miss."

"Then let me talk to someone who does know! Because otherwise I'm going to scream and tell whoever comes running that you were trying to assault me."

"No one will believe you!" The guard's voice had taken on a nervous edge and Fionna knew she had struck a nerve. And so she screamed. And screamed and screamed and screamed at the top of her lungs.

It even frightened Marshall, who was used to screams from the Night O'Sphere.

"What the hell?" a new voice had come from the outside of the door.

"HE WAS TRYING TO ASSAULT ME!" Fionna screeched.

"I wasn't, sir! She asked to talk to someone in charge and when I refused, she began screaming!" The guard spluttered in self-defense.

"Good man." The new voice said to him, "But I was about to retrieve her anyways. The master wishes to speak with her."

There was a rattle of keys in the lock and the door was opened. A large burly man entered the cell, which made it seem ten times smaller.

"Come along little girl." The man reached for Fionna's arm, but Marshall jumped in front of her.

"Don't touch her." He hissed menacingly.

"Master's orders, son. I can't disobey the master."

"She goes, I go. And if not, then I'll just kill you right here and now."

The man glanced between the two prisoners and sighed, "Fine, but if the master kills you, don't blame me."

And with that the two were led through the inside of the fort, through weaving halls and many, many doors. Marshall stood pointedly between the man and Fionna, making sure that he didn't try to do anything funny.

Finally, the man stopped at a large door and opened it slowly.

"Ah, it took you a long time. What kept you?" An icy drawl came from a chair facing away from them.

"It's a long trip from here to the dungeons, Master." The big man replied.

The chair turned slowly to reveal a tall man who looked terribly familiar. Neither the vampire nor the adventuress could put a finger on where they'd seen him before, but they both knew they had.

"Oh, you brought the vampire, too." The man said, "I didn't ask for the vampire."

"I'm afraid he insisted, Master. He refused to allow the girl to come without hi-"

The big man's sentence was cut off by something that sounded frighteningly like a gunshot. Red bloomed from beneath his shirt and he collapsed. "Master" blew over the top of the smoking weapon that he had fired at the man.

"Someone clean this up!" He called, and a couple of masked people cleared away the body.

"Now! I see you two are quite close. Would you care to tell me why the last human and the Vampire king called upon me uninvited and unannounced?"

"We came to ask your help." Fionna stepped forward boldly, "We were not aware that you did not like unexpected visitors. We're sorry."

"And what is this favor?" The man asked.

"You mean you'll help us?" Fionna asked brightly.

"Depends on what it is. Why should I, the great and mighty Marx, help a couple of misfits like you?"

"It's life and death, sir. You see, my friends have been poisoned by a botched love potion. We were told that you would have the cure to the poison because you were the one that sold the ingredients to the woman who messed it up."

"I see… It will be pricey… unfortunately for you, I already have all of your possessions and I wasn't planning on giving them back anyways. So, I can't help you." Marx looked like he was enjoying torturing them.

"Please!"

"Nope. Sorry. Do you mind taking the vampire back to his cell, son?" Marx directed the last question to someone behind him, "I'd have someone else do it, but you're being punished for not telling me that you were coming. You know how I _hate_ unannounced guests."

A boy stepped out of the shadows behind the large chair Marx had recently vacated. Fionna gasped in horror and even Marshall was surprised. Because there, in the middle of the room, stood Max.

"Yes father."

**Sorry for the long rant and the shortness of this chapter. This just keeps getting cliffier and cliffier doesn't it? REVIEW! Nicely or with some actual constructive criticism, please. I appreciate it! **


	8. Prisoner

**Okay, this is going to be short and sweet. Thank you to Anonymous once again for reviewing and I'm sorry for that long rant that you probably didn't bother to read. I do not own Adventure Time or any of the cannon characters, only my own. Onwards my shadow steed!**

"Yes, father." Max's voice betrayed no emotion. He grabbed on to Marshall's arm and began to pull the temporarily stunned vampire out of the room.

"Max!" Fionna screamed after him, "How could you?"

Marshall ripped his arm out of Max's grip, "What are you doing? You're supposed to be our friend!"

"Oh, so you know these two, Max?" Marx's eyes were alight with cruel humor, "You didn't tell me that."

"They go to my school, Father." Max had ignored Marshall completely.

Marx nodded, but the cruel glint in his eyes did not go out. "Take him away then, Maximus."

"As you wish, Father." Max grabbed hold of Marshall's arm once again, but Marshall once again, wrenched himself out of his grip.

"I'm not leaving Fionna alone with this creep. And I don't care if I have to rip out the throat of every single person in this place to stay with her! I will!"

"Marshall…" Fionna murmured.

"Tut, tut. That will not do, now will it?" Marx gave a large grin to his son, "Maximus?"

Max glanced at Marshall and for a split second, the façade of indifference slipped into a look of sadness and terror. But then the mask slid once again into place and he produced a small syringe from his sleeve.

"Good night, vampire king." Max said.

"No!" Fionna screeched. But it was already too late. Max had shoved the syringe into Marshall's arm, and he collapsed almost immediately, convulsing for a few seconds. When he finally lay still, Max hauled him up over his shoulder and carried him out of the room.

Fionna sank to her knees, trembling in fear and rage. How could Max do that? How could he?

"Now, Fionna. The last human. How are you, my dear? Make yourself right at home." Marx sat comfortably in his large chair once again.

"This is not my home." Fionna said coldly, "And I will not make it my home."

"That is unfortunate, given that you will be staying here quite a while. Unfortunately I cannot say the same for your vampire friend."

"You're letting him go?" Fionna asked, a tiny bit of hope creeping into her voice.

"In a way, I suppose, I'm letting him go. His soul will be free. But his body will be trapped, buried under the snow in his rather grave resting place." Marx still had that evil smile on his face and Fionna wanted nothing more than to wipe it off with a good punch to the mouth.

"You can't kill a vampire." Fionna said.

"Oh, but you see, there are plenty of ways. He had some faulty love potion, yes? Poison potent enough to kill even the king of vampires. I can leave him there to die oh so slowly as the spell placed on him with the intent of healing wears off. Or, I could toss him out of the fortress at dawn and let the sun reflecting off the ice and snow do its work. Not even vampires are fully invincible."

Fionna gave a yell of anger and rushed at him, her fists raised to pummel. Marx caught her easily by the wrists and grinned at her.

"Oh, I've got a feisty one here!"

"I AM FIONNA THE ADVENTURESS AND I DEMAND YOU LET ME AND MARSHALL LEE THE VAMPIRE KING GO!" Fionna screamed at him as she struggled with all her might to break his grip on her arms.

"You know? I don't think I will." Marx's smile got even wider.

Fionna spit in his face. "Go to hell!"

Marx no longer looked very happy, "Take her away!"

Two people dressed in all black with strange masks covering their faces grabbed her by the arms and dragged her away as she struggled and screamed.

They went through more winding hallways and corridors until they reached the dungeon and threw her back in the cell with the still unconscious Marshall. Fionna shook his shoulder hopelessly, knowing that it would probably take a while for whatever sedative Max had given him to wear off.

The thought of Max made Fionna want to cry. She just couldn't believe it! Max, sweet, funny, charismatic Max, had betrayed them. He was going to let Marshall and Gumball die just to please his father. Her sadness shifted to anger. She wanted to punch someone. Preferably Max, but anyone would do. But she was alone with Marshall, who was defenseless and hadn't done anything but try to protect her. She settled for punching the wall instead.

Marshall dreamed the scene with Marx over and over again. Every time it had a different ending. The first time it just ended when he got knocked out. But the next time around, though his dream self was unconscious, he could still see Fionna and Marx in the throne room. Once, Fionna punched Marx. Marshall found this very amusing. Another time, Marx killed her mercilessly. There were many times when something similar happened. The worst ones were when she was being tortured and/or raped.

The vampire king started awake at the end of a very frightening and brutal dream to find Fionna sitting there, perfectly unscathed except for her hand, which was bruised and bleeding.

"Fionna?" Marshall blinked, "When did you get back?"

"A few hours ago, maybe. It's hard to tell time when there aren't any windows. But he sent me away almost as soon as Max dragged you off…" Fionna cradled her injured hand with the other and looked up at Marshall, "Marshall how could he?"

"I don't know. I just don't know." Marshall said resignedly, "What happened to your hand?"

"I got angry, so I punched a wall and pretended it was Max's face."

"He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"Max? No, he didn't come back after carrying you off."

"I meant his father. What did he do?" Marshall was almost afraid of the answer.

"He told me he was going to keep me here for a long time. A-and he said… he said that he was going to kill you. Or leave you to die." Fionna looked on the verge of tears.

"Don't worry about me, Fi. I'm not going anywhere. I'd be more concerned about what Marx wants with you."

"And what does Max have to do with it?"

"He's scared of him." The moment he said it, Marshall knew that's what it was, "Max is afraid of his dad. I saw him. His face when Marx told him to take me away. It was sheer terror there."

"Why would he be afraid of his own father?" Fionna asked.

"You met the guy _right_? He's a complete loon! I wouldn't want him as my father, would you?"

"I guess not…" Fionna's anger died away. She'd probably be afraid of Marx too if he didn't piss her off so much.

"We need to get out of here." Marshall muttered.

"How?" Fionna asked.

"We need to make a plan." Marshall flashed her his signature devilish grin.

"Let's do it."

**Sorry this is kind of short :/ I'm tired and I can't think of anything more. Writer's block DX hopefully I'll have some more another day. All of my creative juices seem to have gone into chapter 7.**


	9. One Step Closer

**Hi sorry for any delay, I got my laptop taken away, so I've had this chapter written for a couple of days now. Thanks for another review from Sara (and yes, Max is a sneaky bastard lol) and from Anonymous! And thanks to vampialuva for giving me an idea for their escape plan! Apologies in advance because I have a long song in this chapter… but enjoy the fluffiness! I do not own!**

Marshall and Fionna spent a long time planning their escape. The plan had to be flawless if they didn't want to put themselves in even more danger.

They decided to rest for while before they executed the escape. They'd need all their energy.

As the vampire settled himself against the wall to sleep, Fionna crawled over and nestled herself in his arms.

"Why…?" Marshall asked, looking a bit embarrassed.

"Sing me a song, Marsh." Fionna murmured softly, snuggling her face into his chest.

"Fionna…"

"Just do it."

Marshall finally conceded, beginning to sing softly:

_"Share with me the blankets that you're wrapped in_

_ Because it's cold outside, it's cold outside._

_ Share with me the secrets that you've kept in_

_ Because it's cold inside, it's cold inside_

_ And your slow, shaking fingertips show_

_ That you're scared like me so_

_ Let's pretend we're alone_

_ And I know you may be scared and I know we're unprepared_

_ But I don't care._

_ Tell me, tell me what makes you think that you are invincible_

_ I can see it in your eyes, that you're so sure _

_ Please don't tell me that I'm the only one that's_

_ Vulnerable_

_ Impossible._

_ I was born to tell you I love you_

_ Isn't that a song already?_

_ I can feel the originality_

_ And it's true, I can't go on without you_

_ Your smile makes me see clearer_

_ If you could only see in the mirror what I see_

_ And your slow, shaking fingertips show_

_ That you're scared like me so_

_ Let's pretend we're alone_

_ And I know you may be scared and I know we're unprepared_

_ But I don't care_

_ Tell me, tell me what makes you think that you are invincible_

_ I can see it in your eyes, that you're so sure_

_ Please don't tell me that I'm the only one that's_

_ Vulnerable_

_ Impossible._

_ Slow down girl, you're not going anywhere._

_ Just wait around and see _

_ Maybe I'm much more_

_ You never know what lies ahead_

_ I promise I can be anyone_

_ I can be anything_

_ Just because you were hurt doesn't mean you shouldn't bleed_

_ I can be anyone, anything_

_ I promise I can be what you need_

_ Tell me, tell me what makes you think that you are invincible_

_ I can see it in your eyes that you're so sure_

_ Please don't tell me that I'm the only one that's_

_ Vulnerable_

_ Impossible."_

Marshall concluded the song and looked down at the girl snuggled in his arms. She gazed back at him, sitting up slowly.

"Fionna I-"

She cut him off by putting her finger gently on his lips.

"Shh…" She whispered, leaning her face towards his.

Marshall did the same, slowly and tentatively.

Their lips were inches apart when a loud bang came from the door as food was pushed in through the grate.

"Food." Came the gruff voice of the guard

Fionna slowly freed herself from Marshall's grasp to get the food. She ate just as slowly, contemplating what had just happened. She had almost kissed Marshall Lee. Or had _he_ almost kissed her? Or was she completely imagining that had happened?

She pushed away her conflicting thoughts of the Vampire King and tried to focus on her meal of stale bread and water

When she finished, she turned beck towards Marshall, but he was curled up on his side, now fast asleep.

Maybe she had imagined it after all…

**TiMe LaPsE**

The next morning, they carried out their plan. Fionna banged on the door of the cell and yelled to the guard.

"What?" He demanded.

"I need you to come in here!" Fionna said, and air of desperation in her voice, "I think my friend might be dying!"

"What do you want me to do about it?"

"Come in here and help him!"

"Sorry little miss, no can do."

"If you don't come in here to help and he dies, I'll kill myself! And then Marx will blame you for both of our deaths!

The guard was thankfully afraid of Marx's wrath and unlocked the door and entered.

The only problem was that the vampire was nowhere to be found.

The guard realized his mistake a second too late, and Marshall crept out from behind the door and hit a pressure point in his neck. The guard fell to the floor unconscious and Marshall and Fionna slipped out the open door, one step closer to freedom.

**Sorry that the actual writing was short, but I have another chapter written, so it should be up today to compensate for shortness. The song was Vulnerable by Secondhand Serenade.**


	10. Trust

**Two in one day! Yay! I do not own Adventure time!**

Fionna and Marshall were in the twisting corridors by the time alarms began to sound.

They raced along as fast as they could and reached the exit in almost no time. Unfortunately, the exit was heavily guarded and the door was far too large for only two people to push open.

"Close the grate!" a guard yelled, "We've got them cornered."

Marshall took Fionna in his arms and flew just out of the guards' reach, but it was true. They were trapped.

"Close the grate!" The guard yelled again, but instead of sealing their fate, the door opened by some miraculous mishap.

The guards howled in rage and quickly followed Fionna and Marshall as they flew out into the cold, overcast morning.

They continued in hot pursuit, firing weapons in the direction of the escaped prisoners.

One dart caught Marshall in the neck. He grimaced but continued to fly away as fast as he could. His vision was already fading , and he couldn't keep the same altitude or speed for long. He could already feel himself dropping and barely heard Fionna scream as she slipped out of his grip.

The realization that Fionna was no longer in his arms temporarily snapped him out of his stupor. The moment of lucidity revealed a horrifying scene to him: Fionna was dangling from the ledge of an icy cliff. Then Marshall hit the ground.

Fionna was terrified. She couldn't get a good grip on the slippery edge of cliff. And the sounds of the guards were getting closer and closer.

The noises they made became strange, as though they were scuffling amongst themselves.

Fionna desperately wished that they would hurry up and get her off that awful cliff. She could feel her fingers slipping off the edge with every second they dawdled.

Suddenly, there was a loud cracking noise that almost made her lose her grip. More sounds came from the guards, then everything went silent.

Fionna couldn't stand it any longer. Her fingers slid closer to the rim as the stretch of silence continued.

"Fionna!" She heard a voice shout. Her arms burned so much that she couldn't even tell who had yelled. She called back the only name that made sense to her.

"Marshall…" her voice was weak and she felt her fingers slip so she was hanging on by just the tips.

And then they slipped completely.

For one heart stopping moment, Fionna plummeted into the void, screaming at the top of her lungs.

Then something wrapped itself around her arm. She gripped it for dear life, despite the wrenching shock it caused to her arm.

She opened her eyes to see some sort of rope coiled around her wrist.

"What…?"

There was a tug at the rope and Fionna realized there was someone at the other end, hauling her hand-over-hand back up the cliff.

She collapsed to her knees when she finally reached the top of the cliff, amazed that she was still alive. But her blood went cold when she saw who her rescuer was

_Max_

"Get away from me!" She shrieked at him

"Look, I know you're mad-"

"Mad! _Mad?_ _Mad_ is the _understatement _of the _century_! You betrayed us! So why don't you just take Marshall and I back to your _father_ and get out of our lives!"

"I didn't come here to take you back to my father. It's time I stood up to him. I'm rebelling." Max gave a brief.

"You won't gain my trust back that easily, Maximus." Fionna said coldly.

"I'd have thought at least a 'thank you' would be in order, given that I just save your life." Max mumbled.

"I'd rather have fallen." Fionna turned away from him to go look for Marshall.

Max stared at the snow-covered ground, surprised by how badly it hurt to have his friend act so coldly towards him. _But being hated is more than I deserve._ The thought bit into him worse than the bitter cold wind or the fear of his father. He pushed it away to search for Marshall.

Max found him half-buried in a snow bank and Fionna cam over despite her obvious preference to _not_ share the same air with Max at the moment.

Fionna cradled the vampire gently and Max wanted nothing more than to leave them alone with their mushiness, but Marshall needed attention that Fionna could not give.

"He's weak."

"Of course he's weak, he just got shot with a poison dart!" Fionna snapped.

"He's lucky it hit him when it did. It slowed his body's reactions and stopped him from relapsing." Max said, examining the small dart wound on Marshall's neck

"Relapsing into what?"

"Love potion poisoning. Have you forgotten the entire reason for this ridiculous quest already?" Max was exasperated

Fionna gasped, "The antidote!" Be buried her face in her hands, "Oh my glob, I forgot all about it!"

Max couldn't help but smile.

"Good thing I remembered, then." He held up two vials filled with a green liquid.

Fionna stared at him, unbelieving, "You… you did?" Her face split into a smile for a second, but it faded quickly, "Why should I believe that you're telling the truth?"

"If you don't let him have it, he'll die anyways. You'll just have to trust me."

"That's the problem. I don't" Fionna said bluntly.

Max turned back to the vials to hide the wounded look in his eyes.

"There's no other way." He replied solemnly. And with that, he plunged a needle filled with green liquid into the Vampire King's arm.

Fionna leapt at Max, tackling him to the ground. But it had already been done. Still, she didn't relent from punching him multiple times with all her strength.

"How. Dare. You. Give. Him. That. Without. My. Consent?" Fionna emphasized each word with a punch. She gave him no mercy, but he took every single punch and word of abuse she threw at him in silence.

Max was a bloody mess by the time Fionna stopped pounding him. But she only stopped pounding because the most miraculous thing happened: Marshall Lee stirred and opened his eyes.

"Marshall!" Fionna rushed over to him and cradled his head again, "Are you all right?"

"Fi…Fionna?" Marshall put his hand on her, "You… your hands are bleeding…?"

Fionna glanced at her hand, covered in Max's blood.

"Not my blood. I kicked a butt that needed kicking."

"Who…?" Marshall sat up slowly and froze when he saw Max.

"Hi." Max said weakly, sitting up himself and wiping blood from his face.

Marshall scowled at him, "You-"

"Liar? Traitor? Son of a Marx?" Max cut him off, "Call me your worst, but I came to help you guys, not to be insulted and punched."

"How have you _helped_?" Marshall demanded.

"I just saved _both_ of your lives!"

"So? You could just take us back!"

"Who do you think opened the gates for you? Who do you think took care of all those guards chasing you? Who now holds Prince Gumball's life in his hands?" Max raised his eyebrows, holding up the second vial of green liquid, "Who was nice enough to get your stuff?"

Fionna gasped as Max unslung her green pack, her sword and Marshall's umbrella from his back.

"Do you still not trust me?"

Fionna started to answer, but Marshall cut her off

"No. We _gave_ you our trust before. Now you have to _earn_ it back." Marshall hesitated, "But you're coming back with us anyways. You got here ahead of us, which means you know a faster way back than the one we took. And time is running out for Gumball."


	11. Chapter 11

**Apologies for not updating for so long. I've been distracted by SO many things. This is unfortunately the second-to-last chapter. But fortunately I am already planning out the sequel! Anyways, special thanks to everyone who's been reviewing! I lost track of al you guys! I own nothing!**

The trip back was a lot quicker for Fionna and Marshall, but it still felt like forever. The silence between the trio was thick enough to cut with a butter knife.

Max led the way, with the adventuress and the vampire trailing behind.

There seemed to have been a shift, not only in their friendship with Max, but in their own friendship as well. Fionna caught Marshall looking at her multiple times, but every time he looked away.

As they entered a clearing, Marshall pulled her back into the shelter of the trees.

"Marshall…" Fionna said, glancing at Max's retreating back.

"We'll catch up. Just let me talk," Marshall said.

Fionna nodded, waiting for him to go on.

"You want to know the _real_ reason I don't like Gumball?"

"I thought-"

"I lied," Marshall said, "The real reason I don't like Gumball is because of you."

"Me?"

"Yes, you. Fionna, I… I'm not sure how to… say this exactly but… I was… jealous… of Gumball because you liked him so much and I just couldn't stand the fact that he could get you but he didn't want you. And I hated the fact that I couldn't, and I do want you."

Fionna was silent, so Marshall went on.

"You know how you said that no one liked you like that and I avoided the question if I knew anyone who liked you?"

Fionna nodded.

"I avoided that question because… I do know someone like that, but I couldn't bring myself to tell you the truth."

"Why not?" She asked quietly.

"I'm not the kind of guy who likes to wear his heart on his sleeve," Marshall glanced away.

"Then what is this?"

"This is an exception. So…" he looked back at her, "Do you think royalty isn't a potential date option? Because I know a certain vampire king you might be head over heels for you."

"Might be?"

"Okay, you got me," Marshall gave her a soft smile and intertwined his fingers with hers, "I _am_, totally and completely head over heels for you."

Fionna smiled back at him, "I think a date could be arranged then."

He leaned towards her for the second time during this whole convoluted adventure, and Fionna was perfectly willing to lean forward too…

But it didn't happen that way.

"Seriously you guys, you can have a romantic rendezvous later! You said yourself that Gumball's time is running out!"

Marshall and Fionna sprang apart at Max's voice.

Max was impatiently tapping his foot.

"Well? Come on!"

Marshall and Fionna consented, but when Max turned his back to continue leading the way, she slipped her hand into Marshall's.

*TiMe LaPsE*

The trio finally emerged on the outskirts of the Aaa Academy campus. Fionna seriously almost sank to her knees and kissed the ground, she was so relieved to be back. Even if it was a boarding school, it was a safe haven from guys who wanted to kill you.

Max marched purposefully to their dorm house while Marshall and Fionna trailed behind.

Unfortunately, Max got sidetracked at the door when something, or rather, someone, tackle-hugged him the second he opened it.

"Where the hell have you been?!" Suzanne demanded as she picked herself up off of him.

"I was lending a helping hand to the quest party," he said, gesturing behind him at Marshall and Fionna.

"Why didn't you tell us where you were going? We were worried sick about you!"

"S-sorry…" Max looked away, a blush painting his face violet-red.

"Did you get it?" Suzanne asked.

Max held up the vial of green liquid.

"Go on up then. Gumball needs it, bad."

Max was already on his way up the stairs when Fionna and Marshall reached the front door. Suzanne welcomed them back.

"How is Gumball?" Fionna and Marshall asked in unison.

"Not good, but I hope he'll get better once Max gives him the antidote," Suzanne said.

Marshall and Fionna were at the bottom of the stairs when Tris flung herself down. To everyone's surprise, even her own, she threw her arms around Marshall first.

"Thank you," she whispered to him, "You helped save his life."

Marshall gave a little chuckle, "All I did was get shot and pass out. Max was the one who honestly did all the work. He even helped us get out of there."

Fionna and Marshall glanced at each other guiltily, realizing just how awful and unappreciative of him they'd been.

Tris released Marshall and hugged Fionna and they all headed up the stairs to Gumball's and Marshall's room.

Max had already given Gumball the antidote and he was slowly stirring. He finally opened his eyes and looked around, confused.

"What happened?"

Everyone looked at each other, not entirely sure how to answer the question.

"Lots of crazy stuff," Max said.

This was obviously not an adequate explanation, but Gumball knew them all well enough to know that that meant "it's a long story".

"We'll explain fully later," Tris cut in, "You should rest."

"I've _been_ resting," Gumball said, "What day is it?"

"That doesn't matter," Tris said, "You've been sick, you need to relax."

"But-"

"No buts. Even if you don't sleep, you need to regain your strength."

Gumball gave in to Tris's will.

"I think I need to sleep too. It's been quite exhausting these past few days," Max said.

"Ditto," Marshall said, floating up to the top bunk.

"Definitely," Fionna retreated to her room.

For the first time in many days, everything felt normal.

Well, as normal as it can get in Aaa Academy anyways.

**Okay, that's it for tonight. And be grateful I even did this because I'm sick. Please review, and I'll post the next chapter soon. Then I can start planning and writing the sequel.**


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